Surat: Heavy rain caused flooding in Navsari district as the Purna, Ambika and Kaveri rivers crossed their danger marks. Chikhli and Khergam talukas got 17 inches of rain between 6am and 6pm, the highest in the state.Vansda and Gandevi received 13 inches in the same 12-hour period. Due to heavy rain in the catchment areas, the Kelia and Jhuj dams in Vansda taluka were put on high alert, as they have filled to capacity. Deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghvi had visited affected areas in Navsari and reviewed relief work.After the floods, the Kaveri river overtopped on bridge on the Chikhli-Vansda-Saputara highway and authorities shut down traffic. The Vanarasi-Vansda road was also closed as one side of it got washed away.SDRF teams rescued 15 workers from the Vaghrech dam site and moved them to safety. The residents of Toran village were rescued and shifted to shelter homes.The Ambika river was flowing at 42.83 feet against its danger mark of 28 feet while the Kaveri reached at 33 feet against its danger mark of 19 feet at 8pm on Thursday. The Purna river, which passes through Navsari, crossed the danger mark of 23 feet and was flowing at 29 feet.Heavy rain has caused damage, waterlogging and overtopping on many roads. Some 265 roads were closed by the roads and buildings department. Of these, 24 were state highways. Navsari collector Manish Gurwani said: “More than 3,000 people were rescued and shifted to shelters. We have declared a holiday for all educational institutes on Friday. We appeal to people to not spread rumours and to not come out of their house except for unavoidable circumstances.”Tapi and Bharuch districts also received heavy rain on Thursday. While Netrang taluka received 275mm of rain in the 12 hours ended 6pm, Dolvan received 247mm. Both Bharuch and Tapi district authorities declared holidays for educational institutes on Friday.
